This invention pertains generally to spin-stabilized guided projectiles and particularly to a mechanism for despinning a shaped charge warhead intended for use in such projectiles.
A guidance system for a spin-stabalized projectile is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,347,996 issued to V. A. Grosso on Sept. 7, 1982 and assigned to the same assignee as this application. That guidance system takes advantage of the gyroscopic properties of a spinning projectile to guide the projectile toward a target by maintaining an inertial line-of-sight rate below a preset limit. A plurality of thrusters in helical channels about the periphery of the projectile are activated at appropriate times to cause the projectile to perform the requisite maneuvers to impact.
A so-called shaped charge warhead is a known type of warhead that has superior capability of penetrating armored vehicles under proper conditions. Unfortunately, however, if a shaped charge warhead is used in a rapidly spinning projectile, the efficacy of such a warhead is substantially reduced.